text messages to the girl professing his love for her. his lawyer denies the allegations. the victim in a brutal attack on capitol hill is speaking out. casey adams says he was walking on north carolina avenue and third street southeast tuesday morning when two men ambushed him. he says the men knocked him down and demanded his phone and money and then took off. >> they left me there on the street just, i mean, i was unconscious for maybe a few moments, there was blood in my eye, i couldn't see, so i sort of stumbled this way two blocks to my house. the first thing i said to my roommate when i opened the door was "i can't believe this town." >> police are investigating a similar attack two weeks ago. two men attacked a 29-year-old man two blocks away from tuesday's incident. police have increased patrols in the area to try to catch the suspects. before we go any further, it's time to check your forecast as we approach 4:31. storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson's in for tom this week. and did i hear you use the words

heat index? >> yes, heat index. >> what happened? >> today, i know. back to little bit of heat. we had some neighborhoods yesterday, in fact, that got up to around 89 to 90 degrees. today, low 90s for highs and a little more humidity, so we're talking about the heat index about 95, 96 degrees for today. so, let's head outdoors and see what's going on. wanted to talk about the rain yesterday and where it's been. the weather front came in, came in early, so the rain setup yesterday was just south. we had some spots south of warrenton that got two inches of rain and in prince george's county, a half inch of rain, but really, we didn't get the big, areawide rains we were planning on. as far as radar now, storm4 radar, we've gothowers around leesburg and frederick, maryland, pushing up to the north and east. notice, too, just north of washington right now, around the northern side of the beltway, some more showers, and those are moving to the north and east. so, for the early-morning hours around 7:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m., there will be some scattered

showers, light showers around. we're at 79 degrees. agai it is humid out there right now. temperatures throughout, 72, 79 d.c., 79 around fredericksburg and stafford. high temperature for today going up, again, to 92 degrees with a heat index about 95. a hot one with just a slight chance of a shower. most neighborhoods dry. danella? right now in your "first 4 traffic" report, you're still dealing with some overnight work zones, some in the process of clearing right now. that's good news, but here's what you're still facing. if you're traveling on the inner loop and outer loop near the greenbelt metro station, a live look shows construction still taking place, very sluggish in this area. what's happening is you're getting by in both directions, but single file, you can see. i've been actually in this mess one night, and it was terrible. so, if you could wait a little bit, wait as construction starts to clear. continuing on the outer loop of the beltway approaching new hampshire avenue, the cones are up here as well. they're gone, but as you get closer to university, that work

zone is still in place. it should be clearing soon, but at last check, you are getting by. just the left lane gets you by the work zone there. if you're traveling on the outer loop, taking the exit to connecticut avenue, heads up, there is a mama deer, papa deer and a bunch of baby deers all grazing, so if you're using that exit to the outer loop, use caution and pass slowly by the deer family. aaron and eun, back to you. >> thanks, danella. >> the deer family? all right! tonight, president obama will finally take center stage at the democratic national convention. he's going to accept his party's nomination. the speech will take place inside the time warner cable arena instead of the 74,000-seat football stadium where the president was originally supposed to speak. organizers made that decision because of the threat of bad weather. delegates officially renominated obama last night. they're scheduled to nominate joe biden for a second term as vice president today. former president bill clinton officially made the nomination of president obama

for re-election last night. clinton brought delegates to their feet during a four-page speech that lasted 50 minutes last night in charlotte. seldom on script, he disputed republican claims that the country is worse off now than it was when president obama took office. >> when president barack obama took office, the economy was in free fall, it had just struck 9.4% of gdp. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are redoing better than that today? the answer is yes. >> clinton also criticized mitt romney and paul ryan. he said they don't have a real plan for improving our economy. president obama's also getting support from women's rights activists. a recent georgetown graduate, sandra fluke, warned delegates of what a romney presidency would look like for women. >> in that america, your new president could be a man who

stands by when a public figure tries to silence a private citizen with hateful slurs. >> rush limbaugh chastised fluke earlier this year for supporting a measure requiring insurance companies to cover birth control. and our own jim vance and tom sherwood have been in charlotte all week and will have live reports from the dnc tonight on news4. 4:35 right now. the secret service investigating the possible theft of mitt romney's tax records. political offices and newspaper companies in tennessee received anonymous letters. they demanded a payment of $1 million to prevent the records from being released. romney's accounting firm, though, says there's no evidence any of his tax records were stolen. the romney campaign is not commenting. we're following some breaking news right now. at least 25 people are dead, 4 others injured in an explosion in western turkey. this blast happened at an ammunitions depot, a military depot, during an inventory check. those dead are soldiers,

apparently. the turkish news agency reports employees were moving hand grenades -- rather, soldiers were -- when they suddenly exploded. officials say the explosion appears to be an accident. the man who brought the nfl back to baltimore is fighting for his life this morning. art modell is reportedly gravely ill at johns hopkins university hospital. modell gained attention in 1996 when he decided to move the cleveland browns to baltimore and eventually sold all but 1% of the ravens. the ravens team spokesman did not know modell's condition, but a cleveland television system is reporting that the 87-year-old's vital organs are failing. the georgetown man suspected of killing his wife is competent to stand trial. psychiatrists at st. elizabeth's hospital say 48-year-old albricht muth has stopped eating but is competent enough to understand the charges. he is accused of killing viola

drath last year and his trial is set for october. a 12-year-old boy charged with second-degree murder will have to wait until october to learn his fate. he offered a plea to involuntary manslaughter charges in court. an alfred plea does not admit guilt but does concede there is enough evidence to convict. the boy's accused of beating his 2-year-old foster sister to death in july. the court will determine whether to remain in custody or be released to his parents. the ntsb says a series of simple miscommunications led to a close call at reagan national airport in july. a 14-page report says a regional air center in virginia asked the plane to be able to land in reverse direction on a one-way runway because of an approaching storm. a tower supervisor says he misunderstood the request, causing two planes to line up on the runway as another was attempting to land. airport officials say, however, the planes were never on a collision course. the faa has since banned airports from reversing the traffic flow on runways.

transportation officials also want to try to avoid collisions like this one while planes are on the ground. the ntsb wants to see airlines install ground warning systems on large commercial planes. they are recommending cameras on wing tips to avoid these collisions. there are several cases of planes colliding while taxying. they have 90 days to respond to the request. more than 270 aftershocks still rocking the resort area in costa rica this morning after one of the strongest earthquakes there in two decades. yesterday, a 7.6-magnitude quake shook the coastal province and sparked landslides and knocked down some buildings. state tv reporting 22 people were hurt, no one killed. a hospital had to be evacuated because of significant damage. that country may have been spared greater damage because the quake struck so deep, more than 25 feet below the earth's surface. a traffic alert for northern

virginia now. starting tomorrow, you'll be able to use a busy off-ramp in tysons corner. at 5:00 a.m., crews will reopen the ramp of southbound 23 to westbound highway 7. drivers have been using a temporary ramp that used part of a frontage road along 7. the regular ramp had been closed while a tunnel was built for metro's silver line. it is 4:39 right now. ahead on "news4 today," crime alert in a northern virginia neighborhood after a rash of home break-ins. another option to get around in the district. how you can weigh in on the alternative transportation. and the heat is the big weather story right now. storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson is back with the outlook for the day and with [ female announcer ] caroline penry began using olay total effects in 2001.

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welcome back. meteorologist veronica johnson here. we've got some showers that are lifting northeast right through the area. take a look at storm4 radar right now. we've got showers around bethesda, college park and southern laurel. for areas like gaithersburg, you'll be getting some rain and moving away from front royal and marshall there. so, a little wet weather that i think is going to hang on until 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. or so, and then some on-and-off showers, but most of the area, at least for the afternoon, will be on the dry side today. 79 is your temperature. southeast wind at 5 miles per hour. heat index big story, too. here we are for the afternoon and evening hours getting into the low and mid-90s. that heat index is what it would

feel like. so, today's high, 92, feeling more like 95, 96 around 3:00 p.m. today and just a 40% chance, a slight chance that there will be a pop-up shower, maybe even an isolated thunderstorm this afternoon. can't stress enough that most of the area will be dry today. so, just an isolated or scattered shower. heat, though, the big story the next two days. danella? >> thanks, veronica. right now checking on road work in virginia, outer loop at 123. the work zone had the ramps to 123 shut down and the right lane passing through was shut down as well. we have good news, though. just a moment ago i showed you the beltway as you make your way on the inner loop and outer loop near greenbelt metro station. they have only one lane going by. the work zone is up and all the travel lanes are open. now to i-270. making your way southbound at father hurley boulevard, northbound as well, no issues to report. in fact, clear from jermantown to the beltway in both directions. aaron and eun, over to you.

>> danella, thank you. >> 4:43 right now. still to come, highlights of the big game between the cowboys and giants. a wild attack. next, hear from a woman attack ed by a 50-pound rabid beaver. plus -- [ laughter ] sorry. show me your papers. hear a judge's ruling on an immigration law

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14 before the hour. a crime alert in manassas. police say somebody is breaking into homes near does not freeze road and prince william parkway. burglars have been kicking in doors and appear to be after cash and jewelry. police say lock all your doors and windows, even when you are at home, and keep your porch lights on. a falls church woman is expected to be released from the hospital today after being attacked by a rabid beaver. 83-year-old lillian peterson was getting out of the water after

swimming on lake bancroft tuesday night when she says the animal came out of nowhere. the 50-pound animal bit her several times. peterson credits a friend who heard her screaming. >> a 50-pound beaver -- >> i'd have been dead if he hadn't -- well, we're real good friends to begin with, but i would have been dead. there's no two way about it. >> fairfax animal control euthanized the animal after confirming it was rabid. peterson says she will never swim at that lake again. a d.c. man who says his phone was taken by police at a crime scene is suing the police department. earl staley says he was waiting for the bus near mlk and raleigh in southeast when staley says he saw a police cruiser hit a motorcycle it was chasing and then the officers hit the rider until he lay bleeding on the ground. staley says when the officers saw him taking video, they took his phone. when he went to pick up the phone at police headquarters, the memory card was gone. >> about three years of pictures

of my daughter. she's turning 4 years in a couple days. a couple of years of pictures that i won't get back. >> in july, d.c. police issued a reminder to officers, telling them people have the right to take pictures and video with their phones or whatever other device. police would not comment on this case. police say they have several suspects in the stabbing of a high school student in prince george's county. police say someone stabbed the 17-year-old boy yesterday near northwestern high school in chillum. doctors expect him to survive. administrators placed the school on lockdown as a precaution. police believe the stabber was another northwestern high school student but aren't saying whether they have a motive for the attack. an anne arundel county father faces drug charges this morning. paul brooks called police tuesday night after his 5-year-old son stopped breathing. he claimed the boy had accidentally taken methadone. the boy is expected to be okay. officers found cocaine, marijuana and meth inside brooks' home and also found two loaded guns. this morning, police in los angeles looking for the suspects

who kidnapped and forced a bank manager to rob the bank she works at pl police say the woman was kidnapped at her home early yesterday morning. the robbers strapped what appeared to be a bomb to her chest and sent her into a bank of america. the woman called 911 shortly after the robbery. the bomb squad carefully removed the device, blew it up and determined it was not a real bomb. police say at this time they have no reason to believe she was in on the bank robbery. the suspects got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. no one was hurt. police in arizona can now ask people to prove they're in the u.s. legally after a federal judge cleared the way for the state to begin enforcing a controversial immigration law. the requirement dubbed the "show me your papers" law, had been at the center of a lengthy legal battle. opponents had asked the judge to block it, claiming it would lead to racial profiling of hispanics in the state, but the judge said a u.s. supreme court ruling earlier this summer allows for the law to take effect. the canadian man charged in the deadly shooting at an election rally in quebec's new

premier will be in court today. 62-year-old richard bain is accused of opening fire at montreal building where pauline m moraur was giving a victory speech. he was arrested after setting a small fire. he was wearing a mask and a bath robe. police are trying to figure out a motive in the shooting. today residents will sound off on a plan to expand the h street street car line. it would extend the benning road line to the minnesota avenue metro station or the benning road metro station. the meeting is held tonight along minnesota avenue at the department of employment services at 6:00 and it is open to the public. the project is estimated to cost around $200 million. if approved, the line should open next year. coming up on 4:51 now on this thursday morning, a steamy thursday morning at that. >> we'll try to keep our hair together, veronica! >> exactly. that's our trouble, not aaron's. >> what are you talk being? this takes a lot of work every day. >> and the humidity affects it?

>> right. so, it's a little wet right now, and we're going to see those showers hang on until 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m., but most of today's going to be dry and hot. you like the heat? >> not so good. >> not so much. >> i know. we thought summer was over, right? at least meteorological summer. you can see showers to the north and west of us, sliding up to the north and east. loreay, south of there is where the heavier showers are right now. frederick, leesburg, all wet right now. these are moving northeast away from our area, but as this all shifts east, we could see wet weather around fairfax, prince william county, around stafford county, coming our way for 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and like yesterday, those showers really started to dry up about 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. or so as they came in. i think we'll see the same deal today. we'll have a dry period and then maybe an isolated or scattered shower popping up here or there during the afternoon. 79 the temperature. there's your humidity, 84%, that

dew point temperature at 74 degrees. hometown forecast, big warm-up damascus, 83 by around noontime today, 87 by 4:00, close to 90 in and around there. and for today, heat index 95 to 96 degrees. your cooldown, 7:00 this evening. partly sunny, 81 the temperature. so, the front is south of us and it will be moving away. we'll see a clearing sky overnight and could have another little pop-up shower coming our way for tomorrow. your four-day forecast then. 92 today, 93 tomorrow. we get the heat here at the end of the week. a cooldown the second half of the weekend. and we stay cool through all of next week. danella? >> thanks, veronica. in your "first 4 traffic" report, let's start in maryland as you travel bw parkway. nice and clear between the baltimore beltway and the capital beltway. continuing to d.c., 295, no issues to report, nice and clear in both directions. over to 395. if this is your commute, let's take a live look right now.

this is making your way past duke street, northbound lanes as well as southbound lanes nice and open. in fact, clear between the beltway and the 14th street bridge. no issues to report. back in ten minutes with another update. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. 22nd career home run for bernadina. bryce harper, deep left center. see you later! >> all right, it's pretty safe to say that the nationals offense -- >> wowee! >> -- on a roll right now. the nats clobbered six home runs for the second straight night, crushing the cubs 9-1. again, bryce harper had two homers and gio gonzalez went seven strong innings to pick up his seventh win of the season. tonight's first pitch is 7:05. it's a lackluster start for the defending super bowl champ ppz the dallas cowboys dominated the new york giants last night 24-17. dallas quarterback tony romo threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns. meanwhile, giants quarterback eli manning was sacked three

times. yikes! not a good way to start for the super bowl champs. 4:53 is our time right now. coming up, the fire concerns that led ford to issue a second recall on brand-new models of its escape suvs. and the bad habit some popular teens could be

welcome back. two florida men are recovering

this morning after a parking garage collapsed near them. the garage was being demolished and pieces of the debris hit two men. one man was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. officials say crews are not using explosives in the demolition. ford is recalling its 2013 escape suv again. the latest issue in its models with a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine. plugs that fill engine holes may not have been installed properly and can fall out. coolant can leak, causing the engine to overheat, and in some cases, catch fire. ford is offering to fix the problem at no cost to owners. ford recalled more than 11,000 2011 escapes two months ago because of a fuel line problem. a new study says teen smoking is on the rise with the popular kids. researchers at the university of california studied nearly 2,000 high school students. they found popular students were more likely to smoke than their peers with fewer friends. smokers who were popular also tended to pick up the habit at an earlier age. >> the whole idea of what

popular is. i hope by the time my kids are in middle school and high school, people are going to realize that smoking is not cool and it's not going to be popular. >> it's one of those things that's been around forever and ever, so. >> i know! i want to change people's views. stay with us. "news4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m. we are here to nominate a president. and i've got one in mind. >> bringing out the political heavyweights as president obama prepares to accept the nomination for re-election. and health concerns this morning for a man who helped bring the nfl back to baltimore. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to new"news4 today" for this thursday, september 6th, 2012. we'll look live outside now at 4:58, a steamy 77 degrees. no break from the humidity, and guess what? the heat is back today. >> storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson is here to

break the bad news. >> well, it's not going to last all that long. >> oh, there is some good news! >> but it is going to be kind of bad for this afternoon if you've got any plans to be outside for any long period of time. some wet weather, too, we could have. and in fact, this morning we've got some wet weather on radar. storm team 4 radar, you can see it there, around bethesda, college park area, georgetown, gaithersburg and moving away from front royal right now in the warrenton area. you still have a few little showers that are left hanging on. all that's sliding to the north and east, so sliding to the north and east but with a whole kind of system coming through our area, we could see some showers even around areas of fairfax county, prince william county by the time we get to 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. this morning. temperature currently 79 degrees reagan national, and there's that humidity still high. we've been talking about the stickies that have been with us for the last couple of days. 8:00 a.m. this morning, again, a few clouds, some scattered showers, 69 to .